My son is a rhp and a 2018 grad. I am seeking some advice, suggestions, etc… on the recruiting process, contacting college coaches, etc…

As a freshman in high school my son was average size and ability. He was around 5’9" played shortstop and pitched from time to time. I would guesstimate his fastball was in the low 70’s. He was a very effective pitcher in that he understood what it took to get outs.

As a sophomore he was moved up to the varsity team and primarily played third base. He also grew to around 6’ and weighed about 160lbs. He pitched from time to time and his fastball velocity topped out at around 80mph.

Up until this time he did not consider himself to be a prospect of any sort. I tried to get him to go camps, etc… but he was not interested. We did convince him to play for a mid-level travel team last summer. He primarily pitched and had decent success because he changed speeds and hit his spots. His fastball velocity at that time was 78 to 81 mph.

After the travel ball season was over last summer he began to aggressively work out. He has not missed a day in the weight room since July 2016.

He is a very good student and I convinced him to go to an “academic showcase” in November of 2016. At this camp his velocity was 79-83.

At the end of November 2016 he began to work with a pitching coach. His “baseline” velocity was 80-83. By middle February his velocity was 84-86. He has also grown and is now 6’3" about 180.

He is also now going to play for one of the more advanced travel teams in the area this summer. He will be playing in the WWBA tournament at “Perfect Game” in July.

In addition to his growth “spurt” over the past couple of years he has also made strides with is velocity. Is there any advice, suggestions, etc… any of you all more experienced can provide to increase his visibility to college coaches.

We were scheduled to do a video a couple of weeks ago but it snowed and it does not appear there will be other opportunities in between his scheduled starts.

The roster of most of the colleges that I’ve seen in the Northeast are made up of players that are garnished within a 90 mile radius. There are a few players from beyond that distance, but they are not the representation of the player’s pool. College coaches tend to rely on a known source that has demonstrated itself to be reliable, easily accessible, an alumni base that has good networking, boaster club support and so forth. The reasons for this mindset by college coaches are because of their lack of resources, both in time and money to find talent.

Parochial colleges tend to use parochial schools as their source of players - but not always. Private colleges have an alumni base that are more than willing to support ANY athletic program, sometimes with deep pockets, and that means funding for a variety of things. These persuasions can do more than just attract attention from a coaching staff.

You would get a much better picture of any college or university and their club’s makeup, what their coaching staff looks for, and where they get their player’s pool, by reviewing their roster makeup. Do most of their players come from the same school? Are they mostly from the same part of the state? Are pitcher similar in any way?

Here’s something to consider when receiving mail from camps and such from a college or university that’s out of state. Lets say that you live in New Hampshire and you receive a letter of interest from …oh … the University of Miami. Your invitation is the fly down, tryout, and meet the coaching staff. Now with a bumper crop of ball players in Florida, the makeup of that clubs roster will tell you a lot of your son\s pecking order in the universe with respect to the University of Miami. Also, their game history will also tell you who pitches a lot, and who is use as back up… and little else.

Your son’s high school coach should be on top of all this - IT’S PART OF HIS JOB, by the way. Also, these travel teams are also staffed with people that should have contacts… quality contacts, not promises, to introduce your son and even provide letters, of recommendation.

This business of attracting and contacting college and university baseball coaches is just that … A BUSINESS. Treated as such. Every time your son suits up he’s ready for an job interview. The way he looks, his language, his presence on and off the field is being watched. By the way, if your son has promise, pro scouts may approach him - but that’s for another posting.

Consider this venture as a sales team " selling" a product - the product being your son. Your entire family has to pull all the stops, talk to everyone and any they know. Ask about the colleges and universities that has the academics that your son is interested in, then go after that baseball program tooth-m-nail. Do you and your family know any alumni, can you and your family use any contacts with all the teams that your son played for, and so on. The main thing here is don’t be shy about your son’s interest once he makes up his mind. Coaches like aggressiveness - not a pest. Provide them with a real product that they can use makes life easier for them. Be polished about this approach. Go to games, if you can, and sit right about their dugout. A glance in the stands can jog the memory of a coach when it comes time to make contacts by a little … " hey, I’ve seen this kid before… now let me think…" If that college or university of interest has a time and place for pitcher tryouts, take advantage of it. These things are an excellent time for your son to look at his competition.

Best wishes with you baseball experience.

The NCAA has a division system that ranks colleges and universities by size and many other factors.

Once you get his video done, just send it to every school he wants to go to with a basic email template, but tailor it so it fits the school i.e if it’s in Florida, mention that you like the consistently warm weather and that you like gators etc. Worked for me. I got my video done on one Monday and by the next Monday, after emailing all the schools, I was committed to a top 20 juco in Texas. You can look for templates on Google.